When it comes to innovation in the mobile electronics space, Sony was once at the head of the class. Now, however, not many people think of Sony as an innovator or a maker of must-have mobile products. That honor usually is bestowed on wares from Apple and Samsung.

However, Sony is looking to get back some of its mojo back and proudly displayed its latest Xperia "superphones" at CES. The Xperia Z and Xperia ZL both use a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor running at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (plus a microSD slot), 5" 1080p display (443 ppi), a 13MP camera with HDR video capabilities (thanks to its Exmor RS image sensor), and a front-facing 2MP camera for video conferencing.

Xperia Z

The Xperia Z takes things a step further by being waterproof at depths up to three feet for up to 30 minutes (it meets IP55 and IP57 military specifications). It features an all-glass construction that brings back "shattering" flashbacks to the iPhone 4/4S.

The Xperia ZL has a smaller footprint (LxW) than the Xperia Z, but is 0.08 inches thicker and forgoes the all-glass construction for a matte plastic finish. The Xperia ZL also includes a physical shutter button that the Xperia Z had to ditch to maintain its waterproof capabilities, and an IR blaster so that you can use the phone as a universal remote.

Although the Xperia Z is supposed to launch during Q1 2013, we don’t have any information on pricing. Likewise, the Xperia ZL will have a more limited rollout and we don’t know if it will even make it to the United States.

Source: Sony

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I find that there is a large market for larger phones that still fit in a handbag. There is a large segment of the population for which the biggest concern is usability and ability to fit in a handbag.